“Why is it immoral to be paid for a perfectly legal act if it is performed for free?”, All prostitution exploits women , regardless of their consent. » “We are not going to apologize for prostitution but we are going to fight for the dignity of the profession.” These opinions are part of the plurality of opinions on how legislation should address prostitution and sex work. The following essay is not merely an opinion, but will critically analyze Ireland's Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 in relation to its law regarding prostitution. It does this by covering the history of the law, violence within the prostitution industry and legislation regarding brothels. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get an original essayBefore we look at why current legislation regarding sex work should change, we need to look at the history that shaped the criminal law (sexual offenses) that we have today. Our first legislation relating to brothels was the Criminal (Sexual Offences) Act 1933. In this legislation, prostitution was not explicitly prohibited as we see it today. In another way, however, one had to be seen “loitering,” etc., to warrant punishment. The legislation was reformed in 1935 for a number of reasons. Since sexually transmitted diseases were widespread in Europe, laws were intended to protect men. The laws of the new law were prohibitionist – prostitution was now explicitly illegal. Like the laws of Ireland today, the act was intended to outlaw brothels. Gardaí were authorized to search for this purpose. Prostitution was much more looked down upon than in today's relatively liberal Ireland. Magdalene laundries were workshops that attempted to reform and "better" prostitutes and apparently promiscuous women. There were at least 11. The 1997 Act was introduced with the aim of making the Gardaí more aware of their actual powers to enforce this legislation. The 1997 Act was passed in part because of the arrival of heroin and other drugs in Ireland and the fact that women had very little means of financing their addiction. Ireland became much more liberal at the time of this law: prostitution was now supported by Irish feminists. Ireland has moved towards decriminalizing prostitutes with this law. The Minister of Justice at the time also made an argument against the criminalization of brothel advertising, which closely mirrors the arguments made for not criminalizing the sex industry. » The minister also opposed an amendment to criminalize the advertising of brothels, as this would push them underground with consequences for both surveillance and the health of prostitutes. »The Irish Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) 2017 criminalises the purchase of sexual services. This is to reflect the Nordic model in terms of prostitution. This model places the illegality on the buyer rather than the prostitute. Buyers of sexual services may be subject to fines or even imprisonment. The goal is to realize that women are often vulnerable and should not be punished for trying to navigate their way out of difficult circumstances. This appears to be a fairer approach than the UK, which imposes fines on both the buyer and the purchaser, but Irish law nevertheless presents some problems. EvenIf this sounds harsh, to quote the Swedish government, “…all business is based on there being customers and demand. If there were no customers viewing women's bodies as objects, there would be no market. » This is often cited as women's empowerment, a feminist position that prostitution should be legalized. There is little empowerment in selling people's bodies. Prostitution is most often a last resort. In a survey of prostitutes working in Vancouver, the vast majority (88%) said they wanted to leave the prostitution industry. This is not a motive. to illegalize prostitution, but rather the opposite. Increased legalization leads to increased regulation and care for those in these vulnerable situations. Ireland recognized a fundamental law of the economy with the Criminal Law (Sexual Offenses) Act 2017: the law of demand. As prices increase, demand decreases. High fines or prison sentences are quite high prices to pay for purchasing sexual services and the law will certainly deter some buyers. The Sex Worker's Alliance Ireland argued it was unfair to cut the income of already struggling prostitutes. Instead, I suggest that the Executive legalizes and ensures the regulation of this practice while taking measures such as upskilling workshops to help prostitutes with their professional mobility. This is an alternative to help them survive in this admittedly difficult economy. If we commit to reducing the number of workers in this sector by manipulating the market and providing practical assistance, what was coined as the oldest profession in the world will cease to exist. There is, however, a counter-argument that the law regarding prostitution in Ireland should not be changed. The main reason for this is violence against prostitutes. Prostitutes currently suffer violence from their bosses and clients. Much of this occurs in brothels or establishments where sex is the primary activity. According to the Sex Worker's Project's 2005 "Behind Closed Doors" report on corporate sex work in New York, 42 ​​percent of sex workers reported being beaten or threatened by their clients. Ireland has strict laws in place within the law in an attempt to prevent brothels in Ireland and, therefore, the violence associated with them. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, brothels are banned. A key difference between the jurisdictions is that Ireland explicitly states that two prostitutes working together on one property will be considered to be operating a brothel, whereas the UK's Sexual Offenses Act 2003 does not define the term brothel. The sanctions imposed against the running of brothels undoubtedly deter a certain number of people exploiting this practice. Unfortunately, there is a drawback to the wording of the legislation that certainly merits criticism. Our law, which requires two or more prostitutes working in the same establishment to operate brothels, significantly disadvantages prostitutes who are widely known to work in pairs and share apartments to increase their safety and reduce the risk that they are victims of violence. The law is therefore counterintuitive in its narrow view of what constitutes keeping a brothel. Reform of this legislation would allow prostitutes to benefit not only from the support of their peers/colleagues, but also from police protection. A view that concludes that the law should not be changed to allow this camaraderie.